Branded

by Jenika Snow

  Then Greta had been sleeping for the last three hours, and like a male infatuated with the female he’d gone in and checked on her several times. But this obsession he had, springing up from the moment he’d taken her to his pod, wasn’t going to lessen. He knew that, knew himself well enough to understand when something like this had his attention it wouldn’t go away. War, fighting, defending his kind, those all had attention in him, concentration, obsession. Greta was the same way. It was instant, consuming, and he wasn’t going to ignore it even if he’d told himself he would.

  “It looks like you’re taking on a human female as a concubine? A wife? A mate? What, Tolcan?”

  Tolcan stared at Stellan, looked at the male’s arms, and stared at those black lines covering his flesh. He didn’t have as many as Tolcan, but unless a warrior had the highest Enforcer status their black stripes of pride, or war and death, defending his people, didn’t cover them from wrist to shoulder. “I want her, and that’s all there is to it. What I choose to do with her is my business.” He stood, done with this conversation. Greta would be waking soon, and he had enough shit to deal with when she fully realized after sleeping, eating, and the drug wearing off that she was his irrevocably.

  Stellan nodded, a sharp, almost angry tilt of his head. “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I can see, can tell, that she means something to you, and I don’t understand why. But I do know I’ve never seen you care about a woman for more than a couple of hours, not Rogue or human.” Stellan looked at him for a long moment. “Be careful, Tolcan. If you want her as more than a female to fuck, then you’re screwed.” He walked toward the front doors. “You know the Royal council would never let you take a human as a mate, not even if you’re one of their highest Enforcers, Tolcan.” Then Stellan left, the doors sliding into the wall before closing once more.

  Tolcan stood there, his anger seething that one of his soldiers called it out like that. Told him exactly what had been playing in his mind. He turned and went into the guest bedroom, knowing he shouldn’t be seeing her, speaking to her when he was in this volatile mood.

  When he stepped inside he saw she was already awake, sitting in the corner of the bed, the blankets wrapped around her. He didn’t speak and neither did she, but he scented her fear, her wariness, and the need to escape. She could try, but there was no way she could leave his home without him.

  There were safeguards in place, codes on the doors and windows. He didn’t want a prisoner, but a willing submissive, a female that wanted to be here for him, with him. He could see that making Greta understand being with him was better than the alternative was going to be one of the toughest missions he’d even done.

  “I know you must want to bathe. Come,” he said, and when she didn’t move he clenched his jaw. “You’re here, which believe me when I say is better than where you could be, Greta.” She still had yet to move, and he breathed out, controlling his anger. He was used to getting what he wanted at all times. Anyone that thought to deny him, go against him, was dealt with swiftly.

  But Greta wasn’t of his kind, and had lived her life fearing the Rogues, seeing them as monsters. She didn’t know his power, his status within the Rogue nation, and because of that he needed to remind himself that he’d need to go slow and gentle with her, that she wouldn’t be ready, wouldn’t be able to handle the type of sex he usually had, especially not for her first time.

  “Female, if I wanted to hurt you I could have done so a hundred times over by now.” He let that sink in, and when she started to move off the bed he took a step back, giving her space. He wasn’t used to acting like this, catering to someone, but he needed to learn, just like she’d learn she was his.

  ****

  Greta followed the large Rogue into the bathing chamber. She’d looked around his home, at how it was gorgeous yet sparse. She’d never seen any of the things he had in his home, but then again aside from the trinkets, and even the rare photograph she’d seen when coming into contact with smaller camps of humans, she’d only known caves and primitive living.

  She worried about Jayce, worried about what was happening and where he was. Did he even survive? He was young and strong, and she knew that if he did survive he was most likely in the labor camps, or, God forbid, a male concubine for a Rogue female. Yes, she’d heard the female alien species often took human males as sexual playthings, and that sickened her, just like her current situation had her whole body tensing with wariness and disgust.

  When they entered the bathing chamber she stopped and held the blanket more firmly around her. It was a large room, far bigger than the largest cave she’d stayed in. but then again this male was seven feet tall and so muscular. He’d need a huge space.

  He walked over to the basin, turned it on, and she stared transfixed at the clean water coming out of the metal spout. Her bathing over the last twenty-one years had been in lakes, creeks, or when water had been brought to her camp and heated over a fire.

  She’d never had anything like this before, and she couldn’t deny that it was so very tempting. But as she looked at the male that called himself Tolcan, and told her she wasn’t leaving, she knew being grateful for anything he gave her would only have her falling more under his control.

  “You’ll bathe, put on the attire laid out before you, and when you’re finished you’ll come to the living quarters.” He stared at her, his big, imposing frame seeming to make the bathroom small, suffocating. But he didn’t move right away, just stood there, waiting, watching. Did he expect her to undress in front of him?

  He’d already taken her shoes off when he’d brought her here, and who knew what else he’d done while she’d been passed out. But on that thought she knew he was right. If he’d wanted to hurt her he could have. Instead he was feeding her, letting her stay in a comfortable room, and letting her bathe in his home. He said she was his, and although she could assume that that meant exactly what he said, she also had to wonder what all that entailed.

  She certainly didn’t want to upset him, so she grabbed the edge of the shift she wore, lifted it up and over her head, and let it fall to the floor. For a second all he did was stand there, his face a mask of indifference as he gazed at her nakedness, and she felt this embarrassment, shame, awkwardness that he didn’t seem affected, or that she even cared what he felt.

  He walked toward her and her heart pounded harder, but before he touched her, took her, raped her, like she assumed, he moved past her and turned the water off. She turned and looked at him, covering her breasts and between her thighs with her arm and hand, and felt so foolish. But why did she care? Why didn’t she feel anything but disgust right now?

  “Take your time.” He turned walked toward the door, but stopped right before he left. “And escaping is futile.” Tolcan looked over his shoulder at her. “And even if by some miracle you found a way out, I’d find you, Greta.”

  The way he said her name had a chill racing up her body. He turned back around and left her alone. The door slid shut, becoming opaque so she had a semblance of privacy.

  Turning back toward the basin of water, she smelled the sweet scent coming from it, and saw the steam rise up from the water. It looked like heaven, and although she wanted to bask in this moment for a second, she instantly felt guilt. The other humans from her camp were probably dealing with a fate much worse than hers.

  Greta stared at the water for another moment, turned and looked at the door, and wondered how she was going to get out of here. It was clear he wouldn’t let her go, and until she knew what she would do she would need to be smart. He said there was no escape for her, but did mention if she did find a way out he’d be able to find her. Did that mean there was a chance? But even if she escaped she didn’t know where to go.

  She didn’t even know where she was exactly. For all Greta knew she was in a compound already, one that held the housing units for the Rogues. Escaping might only end up having her landing right in the middle of a group of Rogues. She didn’t even want to thi
nk about what would happen to her.

  She moved toward the tub and stepped in, and as soon as she was engulfed from the neck down with the hot, sweet smelling water, a moan left her. She’d never felt anything as glorious as being weightless in liquid, or the peace and pleasure coursing through her. Opening her eyes and staring at the bath supplies on the ledge, she picked up a rock that was light, had holes through it, and brought it to her nose. It smelled fresh, clean, and when she dropped it in the water it floated. She had no idea what it was used for, or many of the other items here, but she’d figure it out. The last thing she wanted to do was go against what Tolcan said just to be stubborn. His wrath was not something she wanted to see or tempt.

  For the next twenty or so minutes she soaked in the tub, washed her hair with this gel type substance that smelled of the pine trees in the woods, and used this foam substance on her body that smelled of the wildflowers she’d so often picked. She had no hair on her arms, underarms, or even her legs. She didn’t know why as the other human females she’d seen during her time all had hair covering those parts. Greta supposed it had something to do with her genetics on her parents’ side, but she didn’t remember much about them, and had no way of asking. She smoothed the foam along her legs and arms, and cleaned the rest of the body. She’d never felt this clean, not even after she’d bathed in the creek.

  Once out and dried, she grabbed the clothing Tolcan set out for her. They were dark, loose fitting, and were in two pieces. Did all humans have to wear these? The dark colored top was long sleeved, but the collar was cut in a V shape, almost going obscenely down to her navel, with only a small string connecting the top to the corners so it didn’t gape open. The pants went to her ankles, and a drawstring kept them up. At least she was covered and not expected to wear something lewd, or nothing at all.

  When she stepped toward the mirror she got a look at herself for the first time in years. There had been a few cracked and aged mirrors passed around the camps, but she’d never been interested in looking at herself. For some reason when she had all she saw was a woman trying to run from something that would never stop chasing.

  Her hair was dark and long, tangled even more from the bath. She looked around, found a comb, and started moving it through her hair. She’d had small necessities while in hiding, but they weren’t a priority. Brushing her hair and bathing hadn’t been the most important thing for her kind trying to stay away from the Rogues. They’d figured out long ago that the Rogues used heat sensors to find out where they were. A first they could go deep enough into caves that the sensors couldn’t detect them. But the Rogues soon picked up on what they were doing and advanced their technology.

  Over the last twenty years the Rogues had slowly changed their technology for finding humans. The humans had even started finding minerals that blocked out the heat signal sent off by their bodies which was able to be tracked by the Rogues. Of course the minerals hadn’t saved them this last time. They hadn’t been in that cave for a full day, not even enough time to find the right minerals for everyone before they were found.

  Breathing out and setting the comb back down, she braced her hands on the stainless steel basin and stared at her reflection. She was skinny, her cheeks slightly hollowed, but then again not having a substantial diet of protein would do that. They mainly lived on the few fish they could catch close to where they were staying, berries, and even some flora that was edible. But living a hard life and on the run was not so bad because she was alive, and with people that she cared for.

  Or at least she had been with people she cared for.

  Staring at her eyes, the one blue and one green, she remembered she’d always had others point out the uniqueness of them, some even warning her that if the Rogues ever got her they might use the anomaly of dual eye colors for their experimenting. Although she’d never heard of Rogues experimenting on humans, not during her lifetime, she was still wary of standing out, and being noticed.

  God, where had Jayce gone? She knew he hadn’t escaped because she’d watched him get shot with the stun gun, and once that happened it was lights out. She had now experienced that firsthand. Smoothing a finger over the splattering of light freckles over her cheekbones, she wished she’d done things differently, wished she’d been able to hold onto Jayce a little longer. She may not have been in love with him, and have only seen him as a friend, but she’d loved him with all her heart. He was a good man, a strong and protective one, and now she knew she’d never see him again.

  Closing her eyes and breathing heavily, she told herself she needed to be strong. Escaping might have been the brave thing to do, but it was also the stupidest. Until she saw what the outside even looked like, and if there was even a chance she could escape, she needed to stay alive. That was her ultimate goal. Dying at the hands of the Rogues wasn’t going to be in her future. She promised herself that.

  Chapter Five

  She’d been in the bathing chamber for far longer than he liked, and although Tolcan had told her to take her time, he wanted her near him. It was illogical for him to desire a female like this, so strongly, so intensely that he was acting out of character. Maybe he was so aroused for her he just wanted between her thighs, sampling that pussy he knew would be better than anything he’d ever had? No, he knew that wasn’t even the truth, even if it passed through his mind.

  This wasn’t about sex, not even the interspecies sexual activity seen by some Rogues as taboo, which was ridiculous seeing as the majority of his species practiced sex with humans, kept them as concubines, and they used humans to help propagate their kind. But Tolcan supposed there were always the fanatics within any species.

  Scrubbing a hand over his face, he brought the alcohol to his mouth and took a long pull from the glass. The alcohol was aged one hundred and fifty years, came from his home planet, and helped a Rogue relax when the Posh didn’t help. In this instance the Posh was really not helping. He had taken temporary control and possession of Greta, the Royals giving him a short time to decide if this was what he wanted, to take this human as a concubine. There was no other option for him, in regards to claiming her, so having her as a “concubine” was the only title he was allowed to have with Greta.

  But Tolcan knew this wasn’t about owning her, not in the sense that his kind owned and controlled humans. Oh, he wanted to own her, but not as a possession. No, Tolcan’s sexual desires had always leaned down the sadistic route, had always been about dominance over the female, no matter what species she was. Greta seemed vulnerable, innocent, and he doubted she even knew much about the kind of sexual appetites his kind harbored, or could handle what he wanted to do with her. Tolcan’s desire ran a little deeper, a little darker. He was a warrior, an Enforcer, after all, and he had energy, steam and power to burn off. He wanted Greta to help him rid himself of that need, to sate him in all things, and in return he’d care for her and protect her.

  The sound of an incoming video message alerted him, drawing him out of his thoughts. Tolcan turned toward the screen in the living room, watched as it turned on, and stared at one of the Royal’s council members that dealt with controlling the breeding stock of humans, and the concubines given out to warriors. They wouldn’t deny Tolcan what he wanted, wouldn’t dare deny him what he desired. He knew that.

  “Warrior Tolcan,” Head Councilmember Henner said.

  “Yes, Head Council Henner?” Tolcan said and stood straighter, the warrior in him coming out, the trained male that was taught to be on alert, to show no fear, and to always be apathetic because emotion equaled weakness.

  “You’ve put a request to take a human female as your concubine,” Henner said while looking down at Tolcan. “This is most unusual, Warrior Tolcan, as you’ve never shown an interest in the lesser species. There are many Rogue females that would be very eager to have you claim them, but not many would accept having such a highly trained and powerful male as a mate that also keeps a human pet.”

  Tolcan didn’t respond, although he k
new this was coming. Putting in the request just hours ago to keep Greta here as his would have raised attention. He’d never shown interest in claiming a woman, not when his life had been about his people, war, and protecting them.

  “I saw her, and I want her,” was all he said.

  Henner didn’t respond right away, but then nodded.

  “I will indulge you in this request, but know when you’re finished lying with the human she is to be brought to the breeding compound.”

  “I may keep her for far longer than she stays fertile,” Tolcan said. Many Rogues kept females as sexual pets until the age of their breeding had passed. And then they were shipped to female labor camps. Barbaric, yes, but they were alive, and most of the time they were reunited with family after the fact.

  “Warrior Tolcan, you realize that you are of prime procreation age. If you wish to help the cause and our people, you can use a breeder to strengthen the army, or take on a Rogue female as a mate, and prolong your lineage.” There was a moment of silence. “Keeping a pet without any indication that you are to use her as a breeder, or take on a mate, worries me.”

  “I have never been a worry to the Rogues, and have given my most for our people. If I choose to have a human female for an undetermined about of time, then I don’t see what the issue is.” Inside Tolcan was sweating, his hearts beating, his lungs burning. He was trying to act like this was nothing of concern, that Greta meant nothing more than something for him to stick his dick in, but the truth was there was something in him that didn’t want to think about another female. It was a strange sensation to have these feelings for a fragile human that he’d known less than a day, but it was there, and he wouldn’t let it go.

  “You have temporary possession of the human, but your file and request still have to be reviewed by the Royals before a permanent decision is made.”